A Design Review of Ceramic Components for Turbine Engines

This paper summarizes a program (AFML/APL Contract No. F33615-77-C-5171) to evaluate the application of ceramic materials in small, limited-life turbine engines. Advanced ceramics technology is employed in the program to achieve an affordable, reliable, high-performance capability for turbine engines in a missile application. The paper presents design and material considerations for ceramic rotor blades and stator vanes in addition to aerodynamic flow path analyses for ceramic components in high temperature environments. An iterative materials/design analysis was made with use of probabilistic design methods to predict the survivability of the ceramic components. Materials for both rotor blades and stator vanes were evaluated and selected based on mechanical and thermal stresses imposed by the optimum component design. A number of design concepts for the primary components are reviewed. These concepts include segmented-vane configurations and rotor airfoil shape and attachment schemes.